HL Deb 03 July 2000 vol 614 cc121-2WA
Lord Morris of Manchester

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In what circumstances it is permissible to apply the instruction "Do not Resuscitate" to patients in National Health Service hospitals; and in how many cases such instructions were issued in the latest year for which figures are available. [HL2893]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

Guidelines on Decisions Relating to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation issued in a joint statement by the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the Resuscitation Council (UK) advise that it would be appropriate to consider a "do not resuscitate" decision:

  • where effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation is unlikely to be effective;
  • where resuscitation is not in accord with the wishes of a mentally competent adult nor with a patient's valid advance directive; and
  • where successful resuscitation is likely to be followed by a length and quality of life which would not be in the best interests of the patient to sustain.

Information on the number of "do not resuscitate" decisions made in National Health Service hospitals is not centrally collected.